Research at LSPA

An ever-evolving cadre of scientists, from research scientists and college professors to their students, have been asking questions about Lake Sunapee and its watershed since the early 2000s. Their research is usually funded by federal grants (e.g., National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Each research project seeks to answer specific questions and usually lasts for about 3-5 years—the length of time for the funding. LSPA staff and volunteers (aka community scientists), as well as LSPA facilities are often crucial components of the success of these projects. While many of the projects are short-term, one major area of long-term research at LSPA is focused on understanding the dynamics of a cyanobacterium (Gloeotrichia enchinulata) called Gloeo, which is now prevalent in clear-water oligotrophic lakes such as Lake Sunapee. Other current research projects seek to explore the use of satellite remote sensing and UAV robotic boats in monitoring water quality, and forecasting water quality. 

Gloeo

Lake Sunapee Scientists' Research on Gloeotrichia
In the first of a series of serendipitous events leading to today’s "Gloeo Gang", in 2004, an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, Cayelan Carey, contacted LSPA in search of an internship. At the time, Research Director Kathleen (Kak) Weathers, based at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, was working with LSPA on a sabbatical project to explore how science could underpin LSPA’s outreach and education. Meanwhile, earlier that fall, LSPA volunteers had discovered an unusual and concerning problem—the presence of a “blue green algae” (we now know it is a cyanobacterium) bloom which is unusual for a clear-water, nutrient poor lake like Sunapee. As it turns out, Cayelan was passionate about all algae (serendipitous event #1) and followed Kak’s suggestion to pursue the question of why novel and unexpected cyanobacterial blooms were occurring in our low-nutrient lake.

Cayelan enthusiastically agreed, engaged an undergraduate advisor (Kathy Cottingham) and so began the "Gloeo Gang" from just three initial collaborators. Inquiry grew from Cayelan’s undergraduate thesis project to years of research and monitoring about Gloeo, in Sunapee, the region, and cyanobacterial blooms in nutrient-poor lakes around the world.  The "Gloeo Gang" has grown in scope and in size to include colleagues with diverse expertise (Holly Ewing and Meredith Greer from Bates College), as well as a number of student researchers.

What do we now know about Gloeo, 15+ years later?

Here are a few things we now know about Gloeo as a result of our long-term research:

*Gloeo overwinters in sediment at bottom of lake

* Gloeo is not new: there were Gloeo blooms in Sunapee before European settlement

*Recent (>2004) gloeo blooms are not unique to Sunapee, they have been occurring across northeastern North America

* Gloeo blooms vary over time

* Gloeo can be associated with toxins  

Tools for detecting and predicting change in Sunapee and its watershed

Several exciting research projects are underway that use new tools and technology to detect and measure patterns in water quality as well as predict future water quality conditions.  Research teams are using drones as well as satellite data and coupling them with samples collected from  lakes so that these “remotely sensed” data can be used to monitor the lake when we are not able to collect samples.  In addition, high-tech, underwater autonomous vehicles (UAVs)—boats—are being built by research teams and deployed in Lake Sunapee to sample water quality at very high temporal and spatial resolutions.  And, in another project that uses the GLEON buoy and long-term volunteer monitoring data coupled with NOAA weather, researchers are creating real-time forecasts for Lake Sunapee water quality. 

Lake Sunapee in a global context

There are over 117 million freshwater lakes on the planet.  Through our work with the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON), a grassroots network of 850 scientists from 62 countries, we are learning that:

Lake Sunapee is at the high water quality/clear water end of the continuum.

Like 100s of lakes around the globe, due to climate change Lake Sunapee’s surface water temperature is warming, the lake is staying stratified longer into the fall, and ice on is occurring later and ice off is happening earlier.  The ice season is shortening.